Harry Potter and the Uncertainty of Youth
by NovaArbella
Summary: It's tough to be a teen, even tougher when you are Harry Potter. Follow a confused and shy Harry through successive Valentine's Days. Written for the Diagon AlleyII forum Grand New Year Battle: A story made from prompts. Golden Trio Era one shot, round 3.


Diagon AlleyII forum Grand New Year Battle: The Death Eaters vs. The Order.

This was written for the Diagon AlleyII forum Grand New Year Battle between the Death Eaters and The Order. (Down with the Order!) The two teams are battling it out, so to speak, by writing stories based off of prompts. We have a great many number of prompts to choose from, each with their own point value. Below are my chosen prompts and their point tally. (this time I put them at the end so the beginning isn't all cluttered with them)

This story is for Round 1 of the Golden Trio Era, Round 3 in the overall contest. See my profile for my Rounds 1 and 2 submissions, both from the Marauder Era, Of Secrets and Hope and Snape's Story, The Evolution of a Death Eater.

Rounds 1 and 2 saw victory for the DEs!

Harry Potter and The Uncertainty of Youth

Harry Potter didn't like Valentine's Day very much. He never had. Even before he'd gone to Hogwarts, he'd disliked it. When he'd gone to Muggle school no girl had been interested in being his Valentine. He'd been a skinny, specky, little nobody in oversized, second hand clothes who had constantly been hounded by his cousin and his gang. No girl had looked twice at him.

When he'd arrived at Hogwarts, he'd gone from being a skinny little nobody, to a skinny little somebody right away. Even in his first year he'd gotten a few cards and a bag of Every Flavor Beans, which he enjoyed despite never finding out who had sent them. The idea that someone secretly liked him but wasn't saying anything about it had made him feel strange. For awhile he'd felt like they must be watching him whenever they were around him, whoever they were, and that had made him very uncomfortable.

During his second year Professor Lockhart had made a very big, very pink deal out of the day and a surly dwarf dressed as cupid had tackled Harry in the hallway to deliver an anonymous poem. He never did find out for sure who had sent the dwarf after him, but he did have the suspicion that it might have been Ginny Weasley. He hoped not though. Ginny was Ron's little sister and Harry didn't much fancy the idea of what Ron and the rest of her brothers might do to him if he tried anything.

He didn't need those complications. His life was complicated enough this year. Not only had he somehow been entered into the Triwizard Tournament without his knowledge, he'd already faced down a full grown dragon as the first task. On top of that, now it was Valentine's day again and he couldn't stop thinking about Cho Chang. He knew she was with Cedric Diggory right now, they'd attended the Yule Ball together and everything, but he couldn't help himself. Of course, he didn't blame Cho for being with Cedric, who was very handsome, but he still couldn't stop glancing at her.

And here was another complication in the life of Harry Potter. He really did think that Cedric was very handsome, in the same kind of way he thought Cho was very pretty, and it was confusing him.

He'd had the same thoughts last year about Oliver Wood, before he'd graduated and gone on to play for Puddlemere United. Harry had come across Wood changing in the locker room one day before a match and had felt quite flustered. From that day on, whenever Oliver would pat him on the shoulder or back in congratulations, the spot would tingle for hours afterward, keeping Harry's thoughts on the burly, handsome Keeper.

Oliver was his Quidditch captain and five years ahead of him. Harry didn't think he had much of a chance and the feelings had made him uneasy so he'd just pushed the thoughts aside and tried to focus on other things.

He tried to do the same thing now, as he really couldn't afford to be confused. The next task was just ten days away and he still had no idea how he was going to manage to remain underwater for an hour without breathing. He was getting desperate now too, and had been sneaking out of Gryffindor tower at night so he could go to the library to frantically scour any book that looked like it could help.

The stress was starting to get to him, causing stomach pains and increased trips to the bathroom at rather inconvenient times, such as right this second. With a sigh Harry glanced around and realized that the closest place was the prefects bathroom that Cedric had told him about, the one where he'd finally been able to figure out the clue in the golden egg for the Tournament.

As he made his way there, he pulled out a small flask of The Draught of Peace and had a sip. Madame Pomfrey had given it to him several days ago when he'd gone to her complaining of his stomach aches. She said that all the stress of the Tournament was making his stomach upset and had given him the flask, saying that it would relieve the stress and help with the problems. She'd been right, but Harry had found that it also relaxed him so much that he had a hard time thinking straight while trying to find the answer to the golden egg's clue, so he'd had to use it sparingly.

He felt the calming effects of the potion start to kick in right as he arrived at the door to the bathroom, which opened when he gave it the password. As he walked over to the bank of stalls on the left hand side of the room, he noticed that the swimming pool sized bath tub was full of water and bubbles. No one was in the tub, however, so Harry continued on with his business.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard someone enter the room and cursed inwardly. This was just his luck. Now he'd not only have to explain what he was doing here, he'd also have to make up some story of how he'd gotten the password in the first place.

He pulled his feet up out of sight and waited. Maybe he'd be lucky and this person would just be here to use the toilet and would go away quickly so that Harry could slip back out. He really should have known better. It seemed like he'd already used up all the luck he had for his lifetime, so of course he heard whoever had entered slosh into the giant bathtub. Not only that, but he suddenly realized that there were two people out there, both in the tub together. He could hear them whispering and giggling.

Harry knew he should be more upset about the situation, but the Draught of Peace had really started to take hold. He felt so mellow and content that he decided to just laugh off the situation and come right out, apologize, promise never to tell anyone, and hurry away. He felt pretty confident that his plan would work. After all, whoever the pair was out there, they weren't exactly supposed to be here doing whatever it was that they were doing in the first place.

Taking a steadying breath, he nudged open the stall door and walked out into the room with his hand held over his eyes. He knew the people in the tub saw him when he heard two sharp intakes of breath and sloshing water.

"I'm not looking," he said as he tried to find his way to the door while only being able to see the floor under his feet.

"Quite right, you're not," a familiar voice said. "Obscuro!"

Suddenly Harry's vision was completely blocked by the black blindfold that appeared over his eyes. He stopped in his tracks - not wanting to stumble in the wrong direction and end up in the tub - and said, "Wait, wait! I'm not trying to spy on anyone, I just really had to use the bathroom... It's quite embarrassing really, I'd like to just forget this and be on my way."

"You know, Harry, when I gave you the password to this place, I only meant that you should use it to figure out the clue for the Tournament."

Harry felt himself blush when he realized that the voice belonged to Cedric Diggory. He just bet he knew who the other voice he'd heard belonged to. "Err, yes, well, like I said, it's a bit embarrassing. If I could see, I'd leave."

"Alright then," Harry heard Cedric say as the blindfold vanished from his eyes.

When it did, Harry saw that he was turned at exactly the right angle to see that it was indeed Cho in the tub with Cedric. He felt his mouth drop open despite himself and Cho crossed her arms over herself, looking at Harry's slack jaw with amusement.

"Like what you see, Harry?" she asked in a teasing tone.

All Harry's language skills abandoned him in that moment, as did his ability to use his legs. He knew at any other time he would be panicking at the playful question, but tonight the Draught of Peace kept him calm. He shyly voiced the one and only answer that came to his mind. "Yes."

Both Cho and Cedric laughed. "Well, at least he is honest," Cho giggled to Cedric, who nodded and splashed some water at Harry. "Come join us, Harry," Cho whispered, pushing herself off the side of the tub and gathering bubbles around her.

Both Harry and Cedric looked at Cho with surprise, then at each other with uncertainty. They each shrugged and suddenly Harry wasn't so confused anymore, nor did he dislike Valentine's Day as much as he thought he did.

He immediately changed his mind the next Valentine's, when Cho had still been very distraught by Cedric's death, and truthfully, Harry was too. Last Valentine's Day he'd been calm because of The Draught of Peace, this Valentine's Day he was a bundle of nerves and a bit embarrassed by what had happened last year. Their date didn't go well and Harry was left with a bitter taste for the holiday again. He was glad it only came once a year.

The next year he found that once a year could still be too much. He also found that ones heart and brain and … other organs could not only be really confusing, but they could make some horrible choices. He realized this when he walked by Professor Slughorn's cauldron full of Amortentia during his first Potions lesson of his sixth year.

He'd smelled treacle tart, the scent of a new broomstick handle, and something flowery that he couldn't identify. He was unsure about the flowery smell, but thought maybe it was something he'd smelled around the Weasley house. The treacle tart, he knew, was a scent for Oliver, who had always had at least two helping's at every meal. A quirk Harry had always found endearing. The broomstick handle, though... he knew exactly who was represented by the smell of the broom handle, as impossible as it may have seemed.

At the time he'd brushed it off, like so many other things that confused or flustered him. But now it was Valentine's Day again and this year he found himself staring dreamily at Draco Malfoy as he stirred his own attempt at the tricky love potion.

A completed batch sat at the front of the room for demonstration and comparison purposes, and a few whiffs of new broom handle tickled Harry's nostrils, reminding him of how Draco had smelled that first day they'd met, when they'd been elven years old, at Madam Malkin's robe shop. At the time Harry had been put off by Draco's ideals, but fascinated by his swagger despite himself. Ever since that day, Harry's annoyance with Draco had always been tinged with intrigue. No matter how mad, frustrated, or down right disgusted he'd been by Draco, there had always been something else just below the surface. Something Harry could never identify fully.

Professor Slughorn walked by, complimenting Draco on his technique, and Harry shook himself out of his daydreams. He'd added the hummingbird heart, now it was time to add the rose petals if he wanted this potion to turn out correctly. He didn't want to end up like Seamus, who's potion had taken on an unappealing yellow color for some reason.

"Help me, Harry," Seamus moaned under his breath as his potion began to smoke slightly. Harry tried his very best to ignore how much he liked the look of Draco's hands as they diced cocoa beans as he turned to Seamus' cauldron.

"I think it's a lost cause, mate," Harry answered as Slughorn stopped by Seamus' table and began to question him to find out what he'd done wrong.

Harry turned back to Draco and was surprised to see that it seemed like Draco had been watching him while he'd been talking to Seamus. He turned away with a sneer when Harry met his eyes and Harry sighed.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," Professor Slughorn called out. "By now you should be done adding your ingredients. The potions must simmer lightly for several hours so I shall grade them then. This has the added benefit of assuring that no one will be able to sneak any out of the classroom. We wouldn't want anything romantically tragic to happen, now would we?"

Every female face fell a little bit at this news and Slughorn chuckled. "Now, now, not to worry ladies, in honor of the holiday, in the bit of time left to us, I thought I might teach you all a simple little spell that you might not have run across yet."

The girls perked back up a little as the professor held his wand out and said, "Orchideous," causing a bunch of flowers to erupt from the tip. He swooped them up with his free hand and presented them to Hermione, in the front row. She accepted them with a blush as the rest of the class began to try out the spell and exchange the bouquets of flowers between each other. The last ten minutes of class was full of excited giggles and the amused chuckles of Slughorn as he stood back and watched all the blushing cheeks and shy smiles. The whole thing had put Harry in a happier mood than he'd been in before class, which was always a plus.

As he made his way through the halls with Ron and Hermione, he realized that he'd forgotten his text book for the next class and would have to dash up to Gryffindor tower in order to get it. He told Ron and Hermione that he'd meet them in Charms as they parted ways in the Entrance Hall.

He'd just climbed the Grand Staircase when he heard a familiar voice down one of the hallways say, "Hey Pansy!" Harry stopped in his tracks and peered toward it.

"What, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson answered.

"Look what I got for us to try out!" Draco replied with a mean little leer, holding up something Harry couldn't identify.

"Are those...?" Pansy started to ask.

"Nipple clamps," Draco finished for her with a note of triumph in his voice, which seemed to upset Pansy.

"Why are you such a git sometimes, Draco?" Pansy asked, her voice cracking as she hurried away down the hall.

"Why _are_ you such a git sometimes, Draco?" Harry couldn't help asking, striding down the hall toward him.

Draco whipped around as Pansy disappeared around the corner, "It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not," he spat with a sneer. "What's it to you, Potter?"

Harry couldn't answer. He didn't know why he'd said something rather than slipping away unnoticed. He'd just run on instinct, really.

As he walked up to Draco, he noticed that his gray eyes has shots of silver through them and that he had a little scar on his chin, which Harry had never noticed before. "Your eyes have silver in them," Harry said, moments before he leaned in without thinking, and laid a delicate kiss on Draco's lips.

He hadn't planned it, he didn't even really know he was doing it while it happened, but he also didn't stop himself when he realized, a breath away, what he was about to do.

Harry pulled away, nervous and confused, and looked at Draco, who was standing there with his mouth hanging open, looking like he couldn't decide what to do. "Potter," he sputtered as he glanced around wildly, then grabbed a handful of Harry's robes and dragged him into a nearby shadowy alcove.

Draco looked at Harry for another second, clearly fighting with himself inside his own head, and then said, "The first thing I noticed about you were your eyes," right before he returned Harry's kiss with much more force behind it, when compared to the first one. When he pulled away he immediately said, "We can't do this, Potter."

"Why not?" Harry whispered, knowing already, but asking anyway.

"Don't be a prat," Draco replied, twitching his left arm where the Dark Mark marred his skin. "You know why."

"You don't have to follow him." Harry said softly.

"Yes I do, Potter. You couldn't understand," Draco muttered back as he slipped out of the alcove and strode away down the halls.

With a sigh, Harry hurried up to Gryffindor tower to get his Charms book, trying to think up a good excuse to tell Professor Flitwick as to why he was late.

Yes, Harry Potter didn't like Valentine's Day very much. He never really had.

* * *

****Dialogue Pairings: You may choose one****

"It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not." **3**

****Character Prompts: You May Choose Four****

Harry Potter **4**

Draco Malfoy 6 (If you choose him, you can get a bonus of 1 point for incorporating the dark mark into your story) **7**

Oliver Wood **7** (If you use him, you can only choose three word prompt)

Seamus Finnigan **6** (If you use him, you may choose one extra word prompt)

****Pairings Prompts: You may choose one. Please note that your pairing must come from your chosen character prompts. That is if you choose Seamus and Fleur, you must choose a pairing with one or both of them in it.****

_****(Extra pairing from Obscuro)****_

Draco/Harry **4** (You may choose one extra potions prompt if this story is set in their Sixth year)

Cho/Cedric/Harry 7 (You get a bonus three points for writing this during the Triwizard tournament – but you can only choose two word prompts) **10**

****Word Prompts: You may choose Five at one point each****

_**(+1 word from Seamus)**_

Nipple Clamps (You can use this prompt to negate the condition of ONE other prompt, however this prompt has 0 points) **0**

****Potion Prompts: You may choose one. The potion must appear in some form****

_**(Extra potions prompt for Harry/Draco in 6****th**** year.)**_

Amortentia 4 (You get 5 bonus points for tying in a canonical symbolism of this. Eg. Ron smelling lavender sprigs to show his love for Lavender) **9**

Draught of Peace **8** (If you choose this then you may not choose any one word prompts)

****Spell Prompts: You may choose two****

Obscuro **2** (You may choose two pairing prompts with this _**BUT no potion prompts) Negated by nipple clamps.**_

Orchideous **6** (You may only use one word prompt)

****Theme Prompts****

Valentine's Day **10** (Note that if you use Valentine's day then you may only choose three one word prompts)


End file.
